allAfrica.com: Liberia: Clash of Rhetoric (Page 1 of 2)

It is not known whether the timing and the substance of the dual nationwide speeches of the two political archrivals was a matter of mere coincidence or a deliberate planning on the part of one or the other.

But there is something easily discernable in both the timing and the issues raised: the two speakers, all of elitist backgrounds, did not want the historically refreshing date of April 14 to come to pass without giving the nation and people a fresh awakening of, and way out from, those vexing issues and problems that dynamited the body politic on this date 29 years ago.

And the two prominent Liberians, despite their diametrically opposing political angles, identified most of the problems and the issues commonly. Points of divergences, understandably, were high in terms of the solutions and the urgency and approaches.

The Analyst Senior Staff keenly listened to Pres. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Cllr. Charles Brumskine yesterday and figures out the imprints of the clash of their rhetoric.

Yesterday, April 14, brought to sharp remembrance in Liberia the day on which the ailing vertebrate of national harmony, social justice and peace was severely fractured, sending the Oldest African Republic diving in the seas of instability, disintegration and collapse from which it is yet to fully recovery.

It is a day that Liberians should use, said an observer, as monument and platform upon which to soberly reflect and chart a new radical course of lasting peace and prosperity.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her longtime political rival Charles Walker Brumskine rose to the admonition. They presented their various perspectives of the state of nation, and what is possibly tenable in keeping the postwar country on the steady course of recovery and development.

It could not be readily established how the two landmark orations came on the same day; Sirleaf's at about 10:00am and Brumskine at 1:00pm. However, at the day's end, Liberians were nearly filled with a mountain of national problems, their justifications, and solutions.

Sirleaf, a longtime activist and politicians, did not speak as she did in the 1980s and the 1990s, when nearly every policy of the incumbent was solvable and solvable nearly immediately. She spoke like a president, like any other past Liberian President.

Yes, there might be a multiplicity of pressing problems, but from the perspective of the President, the solutions were not all within the reach of government; some needed time and some needed external assistance. Brumskine, a former Senate Pro Tempore during the early days of Charles Taylor's rule, was it diametrically differently. Acknowledging there were problems, the solution is home-grownable and only needed the political will.

Brumskine commenced his speech with a couple of commendations in apparent appreciation to government and its partners for number of strides that they have made in the are of infrastructure rehabilitation, debt relief, sanctions on diamond and timber and international diplomacy.

"The steps the President and her government have taken in the past two years that raised funds to liquidate the arrears on the country's debt to the World Bank, the IMF and the African Development Bank are highly commended, and the Liberty Party heartily congratulates the President for the success," Brumskine said in the nationwide radio broadcast.

"We commend President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for the progress her government has made over the last year, all of which were enumerated in her Annual Message to the Nation. Therefore, at the risk of redundancy, we note the repaving of the Jallah Town Road, the repair works that are currently being carried out on Tubman Boulevard and the Robertsfield Highway, among others.

We also congratulate the President on the renovation of public buildings, such as the Capitol Building and the Temple of Justice. Of course, we have been hopeful that the President would prioritize the renovation of the Executive Mansion, the seat of the Presidency, as well as the infrastructure of the University of Liberia.

Again, we congratulate the President and her government for the work done in the Security Sector, as evidenced by the training of more soldiers, police and immigration officers. It is our sincere hope that this will translate into true security and protection of the average Liberian."

President Sirleaf was also on target with self-exaltation: We are pleased that our country continues to receive the support and partnership that supplements our effort to accelerate implementation of our development agenda...

As you know, last week I joined President Kufuor of Ghana and President Mbeki of South Africa along with thirteen other world leaders in a Progressive Government Summit. In subsequent bilateral talks, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown responded positively to our request for support for our justice system, particularly the Police and the judiciary--this is in addition to ongoing support for our health and education sector and for civil service reform.

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